natural beauty

Ever wonder what is in your favourite beauty products? We willingly put gunk all over our face and body every day not knowing what is in it. And then we wonder why we have skin rashes, allergic reactions, tumors and cancer. Look a little closer at the ingredients in the so called 'tried and true' crap you use and it will start to make sense. A couple of years ago I read a beauty book by Lauren Conrad (I know, she isn't the first person when you think of reliable source, but hear me out) she was talking about her skin care regimen and the ingredients she steers away from. One of these ingredients was Parabens, which I had never heard of before. Lauren claimed that they are well known for entering through your skin and messing up your bodily functions and as such are not often found in modern products. When I read later research saying that paraben molecules were found in breast tumors, I was pretty relieved that you don't see them in many products now days. But on further examination of my beauty cabinet, they were in almost everything- moisturisers, self-tanner and hair treatment. I gave these products to my mum and sister who didn't really seem to care that they were using shit that could give them breast tumors and I started hunting around for good quality stuff made from natural ingredients.

In my natural beauty journey Jessica Alba's "The Honest Life', Kim Barnouin's 'Skinny Bitch' and Jessica Sepel's 'The Healthy Life' were instrumental in helping me understand the harmful chemicals I should be steering clear of.

The Shit List

-Parabens

-EDTA

-TEA

-SES/SLS

-Propylene Glycol

-Palm Oil

-Coal Tar

-Lead and Mercury

-Talc

You probably think, surely I wouldn't be using any of that nasty stuff. But take a look at the ingredients lists on your favourite beauty products. Do they hold up to the shit list test? When looking for the best natural products I started with Sukin. While I have found a number of other brands since then, Sukin is still one of my number one picks. It's Australian made and owned, is cost effective and my skin reacts really well to it. Below are a number of my other favourite brands and products: